Commitment with A Price
by darthstardragon
Summary: Michi Takara Ishikawa is 21 years old, and she has just started college after spending 3 years in the Fire Nation Army. Her time in the military has left her wondering if she can change her life for the better. Hoping that starting a new chapter will help her resolve past wounds, there are just some things that she can't let go. Will her past bury her? Or will new people help remin
1. Prelude: The Nightmare

"Ishi! Get over here! I need cover-fire!" Sergeant First Class Rodriguez yelled from his side of the barrier.

 _Shit. Fuck. For the love of spirits!_ I mentally screamed at myself as I maneuvered to his position. Quickly, I set up in an unsupported prone position and began firing my M-4 rifle towards the enemy. I couldn't do a damn thing in regards to complaining, seeing as we had been in this fire fight for about two hours now, or what felt like two hours. Hell, it could've been four, and I wouldn't have known the difference. After the first thirty minutes, complaining was just wasting mental stamina.

"Covering, Sergeant!" I yelled at Rodriguez.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him shift to his left while still in a prone position. I could see another person, but I couldn't tell who it was or if they were dead or alive. Glimpses of shaking, then a loud yell of shit rang through the air, and I knew what the answer was before it even came out of Rodriguez's mouth.

"Marcos is gone. Keep firing!" Rodriguez yelled towards my direction.

Marcos, poor guy. Always a happy guy to have around you. Always getting people to laugh, sometimes at his own expense. I shook my head. Not now. I can't think about it right now. I couldn't afford to think about it right now. I had to survive. I had others counting on me.

Suddenly, the enemy firing stopped. A few rounds later, and we had stopped firing as well. I held my position, sights aimed on the location of the most recent fire, vaguely hearing Rodriguez yelling over the radio for reinforcements. No telling if we would get any seeing as this ambush had us pinned on three different sides of the base. Marcos was the sixth of twenty in our platoon of soldiers to die, and we were already running low on ammunition from a previous encounter with these insurgents.

 _Fuck these idiots. Why couldn't they have just followed suit before their government went to shit and done an election too?_ I mentally yelled to imaginary soldiers. It was just starting to become a habit as this war went on. As I scanned the horizon, searching for the tiniest of movements, I heard two distinctive clinks.

 _SHIT!_

"Grenade!" I yelled as I jumped to my feet and ran to the two closest soldiers on my right. I pushed them both out of the grenade's radius and covered them as the familiar explosion erupted from my previous firing position. I slowly lifted my head, my ears ringing, and looked down at the two soldiers. Privates Shorts and Balmers, two of the youngest soldiers in the platoon. The two rookies, always together. Lucky bastards should be glad I'm one of the faster soldiers in the battalion. I couldn't hear them, but, as I began to slowly sit up, their faces read off as grateful as they mouthed their thanks.

Then horror came over Shorts's face as she and Balmers looked at my chest. Confused, I looked down. A piece of shrapnel had pierced my back and through my chest. _How am I even still moving?_ I mentally asked myself. Adrenaline pumping through my body must have slowed my reaction to the pain, but as I stared at the shrapnel, my body decided it was time for me to feel it. Pain shot through me, overloading my senses. My fears raced quickly to my brain as my body slowly began to fall to my left. It felt as if I was in a dream; time was moving so slowly yet so fast. As my hearing began to return, I was starting to hear the last words I thought would be the last I heard for the rest of my life.

"Ishikawa! Medics are on the way. Stay with us! Ishikawa!"

-\\-

Jerking awake, I sat up straight, letting out a scream. _No! Not now!_ I mentally screamed. I sat that way for a good five minutes before my senses started to return. Panting hard, I slowly started to look around the dark, yet familiar environment. My apartment bedroom. Groaning, I rubbed my face and laid back onto my bed. Sweat ran down my face as my body slowly started to calm down from the nightmare. I looked at my alarm clock, dread rolling over me as I hesitated to see what time I was up this time. 3:27 am.

 _Well, at least I'm starting to get some sleep back. Five hours before the first nightmare. New record._ I thought to myself.

New places always brought back the nightmares from the second deployment, but hopefully this would be the last move for a while. For the first time in three years, I was not going to move after two months. I was not going to fear for my life. I could do normal people stuff, lead a normal life for a little while. But, then again, when was anything normal for me. After three years duty in the Fire Nation Army, I had seen interesting things thanks to Kuvira and her upstart Earth Kingdom.

That was until the Battle of Republic City ended the war. After my contract was up, I thought best to try a new course for my life. So college it was. So much new was coming my way; it had a good, queasy feeling to it.

If only I had seen what was really coming my way.


	2. Chapter 1: First Day

The sun had just begun to rise as I left the apartment for my first morning of PT with Republic Central University Army ROTC. First formation was scheduled for 0630, but I hated arriving to anything later than fifteen minutes. The apartment wasn't that far from the ROTC headquarters, so I walked the slightly cold ten minutes to the building. The closer I got to campus, the closer I could see Toph Hall, nicknamed Tough Hall among non-military students due to Toph Beifong's contribution towards making the unit into one of the most respected ROTC units among the nations. Course, that's what my tour guide had said, so it was left to be seen how the unit actually worked. I looked down at my watch for the time. 0610. Twenty minutes until first formation. I headed inside the building, which was mostly empty except for a few other cadets waiting in what I had assumed was the lounge area. I took a seat near the door to the lounge, and slowly more cadets started to appear. A few Earth Kingdom cadets, some from the Fire Nation. There were two Water Nation cadets, but it wasn't easy to tell if they were Northern or Southern by their attire. Some returning cadets high-fived each other, exchanging jokes that I wasn't too interested in.

I looked down at my watch again. 0620. Ten minutes until what was supposed to be first formation, and no leadership call for any movement towards wherever it was supposed to be held. Granted, it was the first morning of the academic year, but I was expecting more from these cadets, especially the returning ones. I could only imagine how the Cadre were if they let this continue to happen. The relaxation of it all made me shiver just thinking about how they would act in active duty. I shook my head. 'Not now, Ishi. Not now.' I thought to myself.

"Hello there," a soft voice said, breaking me from my thoughts.

I lifted my head and found myself facing a young, black haired girl, around twenty years old by my guess. A pair of green eyes had a welcoming look to them that accompanied her smile. By the colors on her patch under her name plate, which read Beifong, she was a member of the Air Nation, possibly the only one present in this unit.

"Uh, hi," I replied, not really knowing how to respond. 'A Beifong with the Air Nation? I wonder if she was part of that new movement a few years back.'

"My name's Opal. Opal Beifong. I'm an AR II here," she introduced herself.

"Ishikawa. Michi Ishikawa," I replied. "This is my first year here, so I guess that makes me an AR I."

"You would be right," Opal laughed. She had a light but strong laugh. One that has seen happiness but has struggled through hardships recently. Maybe with the new Air Nation; maybe with something, or someone, more personal. I mentally shook my head. Wasn't my place to ask.

"So if you don't mind me asking, Ishikawa, but where are you from in the Fire Nation?" Opal asked, staring at my red patch under my name plate.

"Call me Ishi. I'm from Capital City. My family is one of the lesser noble families, but we have enough wealth to live in the more comfortable sections of the city," I described, a hint of anger rolling off my tongue.

"You don't sound so happy about it. I'm sorry if I hit a touchy subject. I try not to be too invasive with my questions," she replied. Smart girl, very good listening skills.

"It's alright. Just…family business," I answered, trying not to think of them.

Soon enough, leadership called for first formation. Opal smiled and motioned me to follow her. Slowly standing, we continued our conversation out to the first formation location, and for the first time in a while, I had a smile going to PT. At least one good thing came out of turning back to the military life: I think I had made a new friend.

The first bout of PT wasn't bad. Too easy really. They focused more on stretching than getting a true workout in. Meant I would need to add an extra hour to my already planned evening workout. Of course, that meant I'd have to give up an hour of leisure time tonight. 'Damn.'

As I continued to pack up my bag with what little they handed out at the end of PT, I saw Opal run over to me. Dragging along behind her were two boys; one was around her age wearing a green Earth Kingdom patch, and the other was younger than both of them wearing an Air Nation patch. So there were more Air Nation cadets than Opal. That was good to know, I think.

"Hey Ishi," she began. "This is Bolin and Kai. Bolin's an AR II, and Kai's an AR I."

"Nice to meet you!" Bolin said excitedly. Note to self: Learn to drown out voice.

"Hey. Welcome," Kai said. More my style of introduction.

I nodded my acknowledgement before pulling on the drawstrings of my bag to close it.

"So, would you like to catch breakfast with us this morning? We can help you get acquainted with campus afterwards," Opal suggested, trying to break the silence that had engulfed the conversation.

"Um, sure," I replied. Mom had been worried that I would have some difficulties making new friends here because of my time away from normal society. It was reassuring to know that I'd be able to at least calm that fear down for her.

"Great! Let's go!" Opal cheered as she led us out of Tough Hall.

The dining hall Opal was leading us to wasn't far from Tough Hall. It was a two story building, but from the way the structure of the second floor was, I could tell that it wasn't used much except for warmer temperatures. Opal and Bolin had chatted the entire walk over to the dining hall, and from the conversation, I had gathered they were a pretty steady couple. Kai didn't say much except for a few comments here and there. As we neared the building, I noticed three more people waiting outside, two women and a man. The women were deep in a conversation, but the man stood off to the side brooding off in his own world.

"Korra!" Opal shouted.

The one named Korra turned and smiled. She ran towards Opal, and they met halfway in a hug. She was about Opal's height with dark skin native to the Water Nation.

"Hey bro!" Bolin shouted towards the man, who only replied with a wave of his hand.

The other woman, who had yet to be introduced, strolled over to Korra and Opal. Opal smiled and hugged her but not as hard as she had just been hugging Korra.

"When did you and Mako get back into town? We weren't expecting you both back at Battalion until at least tomorrow," Opal asked Korra.

"Asami picked us both up at the airport, and we just got back into town this morning. Figured it'd be pointless to go to PT at that point," Korra laughed. "Besides, we've got a tradition to uphold!"

"You mean the tradition that you just started, Korra?" Asami asked, a smile playing on her lips.

Everyone but myself laughed at Korra's enthusiasm and Asami's question. It wasn't until the laughter died back down did Opal remember my presence, which I had hoped would continue to go unnoticed. At least for a few more minutes, I had hoped.

"Oh, before I forget. WE have a new friend you should meet!" She pulled closer so that I was standing in front of Korra. "This is Michi. She's an AR I."

Korra smiled. "Well hi there, Michi. Welcome to Republic City University. Don't worry, though; Kai and I are both AR I's too, so we may have classes together."

I nodded. "Hi, and please, call me Ishi. Thanks for the welcome; Opal, Bolin, and Kai have been welcoming, but it's good to meet others just as welcoming."

Korra reached her hand out to shake. As I looked at her hand, at the hand of the one many saw as the savior of the world, the Avatar, I couldn't help but think about the other surprises this year would have in store for me. I shook her hand with confidence, knowing that it was looking like a bright one at the least.


	3. Chapter 2: Mako's Surprise

Soon enough, a routine had been established. PT in the morning, breakfast with the new friends, classes, dinner with the friends, workout, study, bed. Monday through Thursday was the routine, but today was Friday. Friday was relaxation day after classes let out, or so I had planned.

We had just finished PT, and I was packing up my small bag in the Lounge. Slinging my bag over my shoulder, I saw Korra jog over to me. She and I had been placed in the same squad for this semester, which Opal had described as more of a getting-to-know-cadets semester. From what I had gathered from conversations with her and other cadets, they had done a good job splitting up cadets based on an ability level, but, again, it was only the first week.

"Ishi! What plans do you have for this weekend? Mainly tonight?" Korra asked enthusiastically.

"I have a feeling you already have it planned out," I answered, to which Korra smiled.

"Great. We'll talk about it at breakfast with everyone else," she replied, grabbing my arm as she dragged me out of the Lounge.

I smiled back and shook my head. 'Oh the people I've started to hang with,' I mentally noted.

Mako, Kai, Opal, and Bolin were already waiting for us outside. Korra apologized, noting that she had to grab me before we all started to head towards Cabbage Hall, the unappetizing name for the closest dining hall. As we approached the front doors, I could see Asami patiently waiting for us. She didn't have her first class until right before noon, but she was always up early to eat with us. After all, her schedule during the evening was already starting to get busy due to her engineering classes. Projects were already starting to pile up for her.

"Hey beautiful!" Korra shouted before taking off in a sprint towards her girlfriend.

Asami smiled and held her arms out as kora ran into them. "Hey there. How was PT?"

Korra shrugged before planting a quick kiss on Asami's lips. "Same old, same old."

"For you, Korra, but that was a bit more intense for someone like me. You know, someone who doesn't work out every single day," Opal spoke up, rubbing her biceps. Today had focused more on upper body.

"Then come work out with me more!" Korra suggested.

Opal shook her head. "Meathead, I swear."

Korra smiled at the comment; Asami just shook her head.

"Shall we head inside now? I'm starving," Bolin started to whine, a set of puppy dog eyes forming on his child-like face, before Mako slapped the back of his head.

Korra laughed before turning to head inside the dining hall first. Everyone began to follow with Mako and I being the last ones to enter. I hadn't spoken much to Mako in the past week of getting to know the Krew, as they affectionately called themselves. He was very quiet, the silent observer, in the antics that his brother and friends got into. Always brooding in his little world, just as he had done the first time I met him. 'He needs to get out more,' I mentally noted.

Because of how early we arrive for breakfast, there were either no students around or very little, depending on the day. Today was one of those days were there were no students around, meaning Korra and Bolin went through the lines several times to get as much food as they could possibly devour. What a sight it was to watch those two go through the lines as fast as they could piling on as much food as they could. Opal and I shook our heads as we headed to our destination, the fruit bar. We always began at the fruit bar to avoid the traffic that was Korra and Bolin at the main course lines, while Asami and Kai went to the cereal bar, neither big eaters. Mako was the one that didn't usually have an appetite that early, so he would find us an area to sit at.

"You've been staring at him since we got here, Ishi," Opal whispered loud enough for only me to hear, breaking me out of my thoughts.

I shrugged. "I was just thinking of answers that he may say if I ask him why he's always so…broody," I said.

"That's just Mako for you. He wasn't always this way. Maybe when he was younger, but in the past few years, he's actually been a lot happier than this. Bolin says it's just his way of dealing with his own problems that he doesn't talk to us about," Opal replied.

"Well, whatever it is, he'll need to put on a better face. Before we know it, it'll be his every day face. Wait…too late," I said, earning a laugh out of both of us.

Continuing our laugh as we approached the eating area he had arranged for us, Mako looked at us with a confused face. Opal waved it off as if it was nothing, and we took our seats. I sat across from Mako, and Opal sat on my left. Shortly after, Korra and Bolin took their seats at the table, Korra to my right and Bolin to Opal's left. Kai and Asami followed suit, Kai on Bolin's left and Asami on Korra's right, filing up the rest of the table area. As everyone began to get situated, Mako finally stood to get himself breakfast.

As Mako left earshot, Korra leaned in and whispered, "Alright guys. Tonight's the night."

"The night for what?" I asked, setting my fork full of scrambled eggs back down. Giggles started to emanate from Opal and Bolin.

"Mako's surprise birthday party is tonight," Bolin explained, a smile wide on his face. "He's turning 25."

"Korra and Bolin have been planning the party for the past two months," Asami chimed in after taking a drink of her orange juice.

I looked in Mako's direction; he was currently getting some of the scrambled eggs and ham. "Maybe it'll bring him out of his brooding funk finally," I said.

Everyone laughed, causing Mako to give another confused looked as he returned to the table. Seeing as no one was going to give an explanation, he shook his head before taking his seat between Asami and Kai. I thought he would eventually ask about the laughter, but breakfast continued on without any word from Mako. If I didn't know any better, it seemed as if Mako was hiding why he was being so silent from us. My gut feeling backed my theory, so I decided to have a small talk with him after breakfast.

Breakfast soon finished, and as everyone began to head their separate ways, I looked for where Mako had quickly snuck off to. I caught him heading towards the Criminal Justice Department building and ran to catch up with him.

"Mako! Wait up!" I shouted. Hearing me, he slowed to a stop, allowing me to catch up with him.

"What's up?" he asked as we began to walk towards the department building again.

"I just…why are you so broody?" I blurted out, suddenly wishing I hadn't.

His face went from surprise to back to its normal, broodiness. He was silent for another minute before saying, "It's nothing."

"Really? That's the answer you're going to give me?" I asked, a hint of annoyance resting on my tone. I was a bit more annoyed than I let him believe I was.

"Really. It's nothing, Ishi," he repeated, still in his broodiness.

I grabbed his arm, stopping both of us outside the department building. "Bolin said you know how to smile, Mako, but since I've met you, you've just been…isolated in your own little world. Always sulking," I described to him from my observations.

"Nothing's wrong, Ishi," Mako responded with a hint of anger.

I saw the change in dialogue and immediately pounced at the opportunity. "You went from 'It's nothing' to phrasing it so as to say nothing was wrong at all. You're bad at lying, especially to someone who spent a majority of her life dealing with liars," I said, thinking shortly on 'them' before returning my thoughts to the current conversation at hand.

"It's nothing! Nothing's wrong!" Mako started to shout, rubbing his face in frustration.

I sighed, rubbing mine. "Fine. I know what it's like to not tell anyone what's bothering them, Mako. You want to know what happened? I almost died because of it. I won't ask anymore questions, and you can continue your broodiness in peace," I said in a huff before turning around and storming away.

'That's the last time I decide to waste my time on someone like him,' I mentally told myself, angry for wasting it on someone who I thought I could be friends with.

I didn't want to be there, cramped behind a counter in the dark. I didn't want to wait for twenty minutes, not moving or speaking a word. Yet, there I was, situated beside Kai with party favors in my hands waiting for the signal. In reality, after the morning argument and accompanying blowup, I should've stayed as far away from Mako as I could have for the next few days, but I did tell Korra and the Krew that I would do this with them. Even when I really, REALLY, didn't want to.

Bolin and Korra had rented out the local university-owned bar, and there were about forty or so people trying to hide in the space. The lights being off helped hide us, but it was considerably harder with the amount of windows the space had. Especially since we were all forced to crouch. By the time five minutes had gone by, my leg was already asleep from its scrunched position, and I was starting to get annoyed by how long Bolin was taking. After piling us into our respective hiding spots, he had left to fetch his brother from their apartment. Slightly adjusting myself, so as to wake my leg up and not to bump Kai, I moved into a more comfortable kneeling position where my back was up against the cabinet.

Not long after, Kai spoke up softly. "So, Opal says you've had Mako on the mind lately. Care to explain?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Not common courtesy from where your from to wonder what has a friend in a bad mood all the time?"

"True, but really, you're the only one worried," he answered, adjusting himself to get into a more comfortable position.

I rolled my eyes and leaned my head back against the counter. I didn't understand why everyone was making such a big deal about it; sure, he was handsome, but not my type if all he did was brood. Maybe if he wasn't such a downer I would've thought more about it, but I had yet to see him in a different mood than his current one.

It wasn't long after the short conversation that I started to hear Bolin's voice. I glanced around the corner to see him coming down the hall with Mako, who still was his broody self. I rolled my eyes and elbowed Kai lightly. He nodded and started to pass around the signal for everyone to get ready.

"Mako, come on! Tahno said that this would be a great birthday treat, especially when there's a discount involved," Bolin was telling Mako as they entered the bar. Tahno was one of the student supervisors at the bar who played for one of the intramural sports teams from what I was told.

"Bolin, there's not even a light on. Are you even sure this place is open?" Mako asked, skepticism on his voice.

The lights flipped on, queuing everyone to jump up and yell, "Surprise!"

For the first time in the short time I've known Mako, I finally got to see a genuine smile plaster his face. Not like the smile I saw on the first day, but a nice, genuine smile. Laughs soon engulfed the bar as people started to surround the brothers, and the party began.

The party had lasted for about three hours before I found myself outside for fresh air. Bolin and Korra had wasted no effort in planning a great party, making sure no one was left out and making it so that there wasn't a time where nothing was going on, even if it meant that they had to step up and do some improve comedy. Currently there was a dance battle going on with a majority of the guests, while others were simply chowing down on the delicious cake served by one of the pricy cake shops from downtown. I would've happily enjoyed sitting in with everyone if it hadn't started to get so sweaty thanks to the dance competition, so it was then that I decided fresh air was needed.

I sat on one of the benches not far from the bar, looking up at the stars as they filled the night sky. No cloud was in view, so all the stars were making an appearance tonight. What a sight it was, to say the least. Stretching out, I laid down on the bench and continued to look at the sky for another five minutes. The thought of going inside and bidding my farewells had started to creep into my mind when a rustling noise was heard approaching the bench. Quickly, I sat up, my hand going to my hip where my non-existent gun was before I even knew what I was doing, and saw that the person was Mako. Mentally, I was cursing my body for reaching for the gun that I already knew I didn't have. Physically, I stared a little as Mako recovered from the surprise of finding me on the bench.

"Oh. Sorry. I didn't know anyone had come out here," he said, awkwardly standing the small distance from the bench.

I swung my legs off the bench so that I was sitting up. "Not your fault. I was the one laying down," I replied.

He nodded, waiting for a few minutes before taking the seat beside me. A few silent minutes of awkwardness filled the air before he spoke up again.

"I'm sorry about earlier today. You were right; something is on my mind, but it's…personal to say the least," he said.

I nodded. "It's ok. I'm sorry for pushing."

"Apology accepted. So…want to head back inside instead of being outside by yourself?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No thanks. I think I'm going to head home. Great party and all, but I think I'm partied out for the night. Tell Bolin and Korra that it was a great party," I said, standing up.

Turning to face him, I could see he wanted to say more but chose not to. I mentally shrugged it off and began to walk towards my apartment. A few minutes later, I could hear footsteps running up behind me. "Wait up!" I heard Mako yell, indicating he was the runner.

I stopped in my tracks, looking at him. "Yeah?"

"Would you...would you like to go get some coffee with me? Say, tomorrow around one o'clock?" Mako asked, his cheeks turning a bit red.

It was then that a weird feeling crept inside my stomach, my cheeks themselves starting to feel a little warmer. Man, feelings picked horrible, awkward times to appear.

"Uh…sure. Meet outside Water Way?" I asked. Water Way was another student eatery, but this one was more popular due to its ability to let students pick out what they wanted from mainstream places who set up shop inside the space.

Mako smiled, another genuine smile. Two in one day. Now the apocalypse was definitely coming. "Water Way. One o'clock," he said.

I smiled back. "See you tomorrow," I said before turning back and continuing my walk back towards my apartment. What a day this had ended. I could only imagine how tomorrow was going to play out.


End file.
